Forsaken Secrets: A slow-burn new adult fantasy romance (Isle of the Forsaken Book 1)

by Olivia K Moto

  The monster wasn't having it, though. It stretched, pressing into me from the inside, seeking a point of escape.

  Then a new ghoul lunged at me. Gone were whatever colored eyes he had before, and in their place were dark pools of emptiness.

  I looked up to see Kaiya arching in her bonds, her mouth opening in a soundless scream as an echoing noise came from my left. Lynk?

  He mouthed something and stared at her, shock filling his eyes as he fell to his knees.

  His face was pale, and sweat rolled down his face.

  Great! The monster inside pressed at its bonds. Lynk was affected somehow, Kaiya was trapped, and Liam was beaten to a pulp.

  How the fuck was I supposed to get them all out of here?

  Saints …

  I looked between the three.

  My monster would not stay inside long.

  The other two would have to save themselves …

  Another ghoul lunged at me, and the monster inside sent fire through my limbs.

  I'd used so much of my charisma earlier that I was weak against it. FUCK.

  Mind racing, I searched for options. I NEEDED to get to Liam.

  The monster paid me no heed, though, and shadows streamed out of me.

  I was out of time.

  The cultists around me continued to scream, their bodies boiling and warping as the stone dragon came alive … more of him turning to flesh and bone as the cultists took on the corruption he was losing and turned to body wraiths.

  Shock flooded me. Gods be damned. How did one of the Lost Kings get here?

  But my monster would have no more. It was give in or pass out, so I gave in, pulling my blade and slashing at the new ghouls.

  Those poor people had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

  60

  Kaiya

  Tortured screams surrounded me as I stepped out of the darkness, releasing the bond I'd made.

  I opened my eyes. But the cavern was no longer full of chanting cultists. Instead, everywhere I looked, there were ghouls — their bodies twisting, clicking, and popping as they ran around the room.

  Behind me, I felt something moving. The dragon statue was changing — its stone skin turning to scales, and when I reached out for its korra, I saw the webbed form from earlier.

  Gods. I needed to get Aunt Grace out of here.

  Desperately, I searched for a knife or something to break my ropes.

  A movement to my left made me freeze.

  Ellingsworth stood there, jaw agape, as his body changed. Sir Litsor tugged at the lord's cloak insistently, pointing to the exit, and Lady Ellingsworth stared first at me and then my aunt, eyes venomous.

  Aunt Grace?! Her lips were swollen and purple, her chest barely moving. She'd gotten much worse while I was gone. I needed to get her out of here!

  I jerked against my restraints. But they wouldn't budge!

  Was I to sit here and watch death come for all these people, then?

  Something moved against my feet and I looked down, then gasped.

  Eli lay there, face swollen and bloody.

  How had he gotten here? And why? I'd tried to warn him, to get him to leave town. But of course the reckless lordling hadn't listened!

  Gods. Why had they beat him?

  Anger filling me, I looked back up at the vicar. That bastard deserved whatever came to him!

  Heart aching, I reached out for Eli's korra, desperate to help. He might have lied to me, but that didn't mean I wanted him dead! I reached out a foot and tapped on his shoulder.

  He jerked as I made contact, eyes fluttering open slowly, those green depths so very sad.

  Eyes wide, he mouthed something. I leaned in, trying to make out the words, but my bindings kept me upright and the surrounding cacophony was too loud to make out whispers.

  I watched helplessly as he rolled to the side and lurched to his feet.

  Stop! I tried to yell, but the gag blocked all sounds.

  Gods. What was he thinking?!

  He staggered forwards, and I looked that way in time to see Lady Ellingsworth, lips pinched as she stared at Aunt Grace. A dagger glinted in her hand.

  I jerked against my ropes, begging them to break as I watched the dagger let loose. Eli dove in front of it and I stared, helpless, as it embedded itself in his chest.

  My chest ached as he staggered back towards me, collapsing at my feet, those green eyes staring at me. Again, he tried to speak, but only blood came out.

  I screamed and fought my bindings again, all the anger pouring out of me as I watched his life fade away, helpless to stop it. Lady Ellingsworth just stood there, eyes wide, as she watched something behind me.

  Then suddenly my hands were free!

  I looked up to see Lynk, face pale and drenched in sweat. He passed me something, and I looked down to see my little dagger and the ropes that had tied me.

  He'd cut me loose?

  I yanked the gag from my mouth and turned to yell at him, to beg for his help. But he'd already disappeared into the writhing crowd.

  When this was over, he'd answer for everything! Every single thing.

  I dropped from my chair to my knees, pulling Eli's head to my lap. His perfectly messy black hair poked up everywhere.

  Tears burned at the back of my eyes, and my chest ached.

  The reckless lordling had dove in front of a gods damned knife to protect my aunt!

  What in the seven hells had he been thinking!? The tears broke free, forming torrents down my cheeks as I bent to listen to his heart.

  I pulled in every bit of energy I could through my bonds and pushed it into him.

  "Live, you damn lordling! Live!" I screamed, voice hoarse. I knew it wouldn't do any good, but gods, I had to try!

  He didn't move.

  My chest ached as the bright reds, greens, and blues of his korra began to disperse. Something had to fix him! This couldn't be the end!

  A strange grinding noise behind me made me freeze.

  I turned to see a fully formed dragon, now made of flesh and bone! Horribly, gruesomely, injured flesh and bone.

  Blood poured from his chest and belly, while his neck arced up in a graceful curve as he let loose a loud screech and sent fire into the air.

  I ducked, trying to cover both Aunt Grace and Eli!

  Then, for one brief moment, everything was silent.

  When I looked back up, the dragon had disappeared!

  In its place stood a tall, slim man. His naked skin was covered in strange markings and a terrible wound stretched from his mouth down to his belly, closing and knitting together in some kind of healing magic that was faster than I ever thought possible.

  I stared as his shoulders shook violently. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground.

  "YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Lady Ellingsworth screamed, forcing my attention back to her.

  She held out the strange stone bracelet from before and rushed towards me, the fiery pain arced through me again.

  I was prepared this time, but my knees still buckled and I writhed atop Eli as the pain overtook me.

  Gods be damned. Finally, the pain subsided, and I tried pulling on that bond again. Only a trickle came through.

  The knife!

  I stood shakily and slipped it from my sleeve, holding it up in front of us. She'd already done enough. She wasn't going to do more!

  "Stop!" I screamed. "This is on YOU! You and your husband interfered with things beyond what you knew and this here — THIS is the price you pay!"

  She glared at me. "No! This is all your fault, you ungrateful wench! If you'd just done as he said, NONE of this would have happened." Her voice rose to a frantic screech. "Now the Druid is broken, my husband has changed." She motioned to the side where a very ghoulish Lord Ellingsworth lumbered towards us, bulging eyes red and bloodshot. "And EVERYTHING is ruined!"

  Wait! Why had he and everyone else turned to wraiths, but not his wife or the vicar?

&
nbsp; I looked down at the bracelet on her arm, then back up at her smooth face. Was it protecting her somehow?

  Lord Ellingsworth advanced on his wife, mouth agape with blood dripping out one corner. Based on the blood and gore covering his teeth, I highly doubted it was his own.

  She looked between the two of us, eyes wide with fear, then stepped closer to him, hands up. "It's okay. It's just me. I know you know who I am — " He lunged and Lady Ellingsworth let out a blood-curdling scream.

  Something thunked to the floor to my left and when I looked down, a small feminine hand with a glinting pearl ring and black stone bracelet lay there.

  Her scream turned garbled, and I looked up in time to see her face bubble with little pustules and boils like her husband's.

  Lord Ellingsworth dropped his head back and let loose a gut curdling scream as pustules spread up his face and his jaw unhinged. Then he turned to us.

  Oh fuck.

  I crouched in front of Aunt Grace and Eli, guarding them as best I could with my little dagger. But it wouldn't do much good against these monsters.

  Damn!

  I tried tugging on that bond again, but nothing came through. I looked between the advancing monsters and the two people I loved, heart torn. I needed to get them free!

  Perhaps I could drag them? It seemed impossible, but I had to do something!

  Then a low rumble sounded, reverberating through the room as dozens of serpentine forms exploded through the entryway.

  Solyn? Rehnara? Lunei?

  How had Solyn gotten free? And what made them come?

  I looked over my shoulder at Eli's prone form.

  How had he managed this?

  We were out of time, though, and the Lady Ellingsworth creature descended on us. I swiped the dagger towards her and waited for the pain of sharp teeth and claws.

  When nothing but a guttural scream came, I looked up to see a vrytra drop from the ceiling, its hinged jaws encompassing Lady Ellingsworth's head to tear it from her shoulders, "This is for my family …"

  "Lunei?" My heart hammered, and I dropped to my knees as she tore the Ellingsworths to shreds, sending blood and chunks of flesh everywhere. It made my stomach lurch, but I sent a surge of gratefulness towards the little vrytra.

  "Thank you, Weaver," she whispered in my head before pushing off, scarred tail propelling her through the mass of bodies and blood.

  Heart hammering, I watched as the vrytra tore apart the ghouls in a frenzy, sending bits of boiling flesh throughout the room.

  The vicar dodged one creature and then another and was almost to the door when a misty shadow fell over him.

  That insufferable prince, Jaiel, stood behind the shadow, eyes bright white as he threw back his head and screamed. A writhing black shadow moved over Sir Litsor and within seconds his corpse fell to the floor in a pile of dust.

  Perhaps Jaiel wasn't so insufferable after all.

  Was that what Eli had meant about an Eater? It certainly seemed different from what Lynk had done. Even his eyes had glowed a different color.

  I looked around, the chaos echoing in my skull like a sort of deadly music.

  Solyn led her pod of vrytra, tearing the bodies apart of every ghoul they encountered, and I sank to the floor, pulling Eli onto my lap again.

  It was over. We'd won. But my chest felt empty as I stared at the mess. Had it been worth it?

  Another sound reached my ears. Booted feet pounding down stairs …

  I looked up to see a tall woman in a little pink hat descend the last step, eyes wide as she took in the mess of the room.

  Ghouls, gremlyns, vrytra, Lady Frexin, Jaiel … Lynk?

  The traitorous Lynk stood to my right, staring into my eyes, and I felt him … his anguish … through our bond as he bent to pick up the now prone statue man.

  Our bond?! HE was the one I'd bonded?

  No! Anyone but him! I shook my head, staring at that lithe form in his arms. Was that why he'd betrayed us? Was he really the Drake? If so, why did it matter to Lynk?

  I tried to reach through our bond, to force the information like that man in the korra realm had with me, but I had no idea what I was doing.

  Lynk stared at me, silver eyes tense. "I'm sorry, little thief. I wanted this to be different … but I can't let her get free. Drake was the only way …"

  Darkness crept across the edges of my vision, and I tried to scream. Was that bastard putting me to sleep again?

  Then everything went dark.

  Gods be damned. That traitor was going to wish he'd never saved us from that cliff before I was through with him!

  61

  Jaiel

  I stared as Lynk did something to Kaiya and she dropped to the floor, sprawling wide as though to protect her aunt and Liam, even in her sleep.

  Okay. Perhaps she wasn't SO terrible.

  Lynk stumbled off down a hallway I hadn't seen, strange dragon-man resting on his shoulder and lips set in an angry line.

  I met his gaze for a moment, and he dipped his head slightly.

  Then, as though he were never there, he was gone, and I was left staring at an empty hall quickly filling up with military personnel.

  Damn. I needed to get Liam out of here!

  I slipped through the remains, pulling in my now-full monster, and jogged to the front. Behind me, booted feet stomped through the room and I heard a woman shout loudly to grab the girl.

  I cast a guilty look towards Kaiya as I pushed her off Liam, but her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Her Aunt lay behind her, face swollen and breath too fast.

  Not my concern. They weren't my concern.

  But saints, it sure felt like they were!

  Liam's body was still warm, but I could feel no spark inside it. A nudge at my elbow made me look over to see the prone form of the largest vrytra I'd ever seen. Her single white eye swirled weakly as she dipped her head to touch Liam's.

  Then Liam took a sharp breath in, the sound rattling in his damaged chest.

  Amazed, I boosted him onto my shoulder and sent one more look at the vrytra. Had she somehow healed him?

  I'd have to ask him about it later …

  Putting it from my mind, I slipped behind the altar. I'd seen cultists stream in and out of this area, so perhaps there was a way out back there.

  "She's alive! Get a healer!" a man shouted behind me.

  Thank the saints.

  Adjusting Liam, I slipped into the darkness.

  This had been fun, but it was time to return to the shadows where we belonged.

  62

  Kaiya

  Aunt Grace groaned and shifted in her bed, face pale and brow damp.

  She'd woken up a few times, but just mumbled nonsense. I reached out and pulled up her blanket, then spent a few moments stretching her legs for her. They said she might gain the use again of them someday if she worked hard enough.

  Of course, it would help if we could afford to pay a specialist to work with her.

  Gods, I hated money. No matter what I did, everything seemed to revolve around the stuff.

  "Kaiya! You need to go take a break." Sylvie's warm voice made me look up. She'd slipped in the room without me even noticing and held out a tray of food.

  "Thank you, Sylvie. You didn't have to do that. I can make myself — "

  "Oh hush. Let me do this for you. These days haven't been easy on you either, Miss!"

  "Any news on Eli?" I asked, hardly even daring to voice the question.

  Sylvie's smile fell. "The soldiers say he wasn't there when they got you, Kaiya. His people must have taken him away before Frexin's men showed up. They have yet to find any trace of him or the Harlsteds. I'm so sorry."

  I looked down at my hands and pushed away my feelings. I'd known that. I'd seen those empty green eyes. But some part of me had hoped, had wished, that I'd been wrong.

  I still wasn't sure what I'd even felt for him. Love? Anger? Lust? All the above? He'd lied and betrayed me, but he'd saved my life and
that of my aunt.

  My chest ached at the thought of his lifeless body in my lap. Those green eyes blank. I'd never look into them again, never run my fingers through his hair, never trace his lips with my fingers …

  I should count my blessings. My family was safe.

  Maybe I'd lost Eli and the Harlsteds, but so many Gleyma citizens were dead. My loss paled in comparison.

  It seemed that anyone who Ellingsworth or the vicar had healed had turned to a ghoul. Monster hunters had been called in to help clear them out, but it would be months before they were all dispatched.

  Eyes burning, I turned back to Sylvie. "I need to find Lynk. He betrayed us to free that dragon-man, and I need to know why." Footsteps sounded outside and Sylvie held her finger up.

  "I forgot to mention it, but a woman is here to see you, Miss."

  As though she'd been waiting for her cue, the door pushed open and Lady Frexin walked in. She wore that same little hat and goggles, and her lips were twisted into a bemused smile. "No. No. Don't stop on my account. Please. I was hoping to talk about this Lynk fellow, anyway."

  My heart beat quickly and I wrapped my fingers in the blankets atop Aunt Grace's bed.

  "We can discuss him later, if you'd prefer." She stepped closer, dropping her hand to my arm. “But we will discuss it. I'm more curious, though, as to how you're liking your home?" She withdrew a large envelope and passed it to me. "I've given your aunt the deed to both it and the Ellingsworth estate, as well as ownership of the leases for the land beneath. You may not sell the items yourselves, of course, but you may let Reapers hunt and take a cut of the profits as is due."

  My jaw dropped. "Why? Why would you do that?"

  She shifted, then sat down next to me on the bed. "Because, Miss Maderoth, there is something unique about you. And I have a feeling there is more in common between us than one might think. Besides, something tells me it's better to have you on my side than against it."

  I clenched my jaw and slid the packet onto the bedside table. I'd look through it all later when there weren't prying eyes around.